rainwater run-off from pavements and 

 buildings, hurricane hazzards, over- 

 crowding, noise and air pollution, and 

 the destruction of natural landscapes 

 and wildlife habitats. 



Bob Benton, head of Shellfish 

 Sanitation, also has his doubts about 

 central sewers on the islands. "I think 

 central sewers will increase density," 

 he says. "It may be a self-defeating 

 thing." 



In response to such criticisms, the 

 EPA has dictated that 201 plans in 

 areas defined as "areas of environmen- 

 tal concern" — including much of the 

 state's coastline — be only large enough 

 to solve existing problems and allow 

 for 10 percent growth. 



Says LaDane Bullington, mayor of 

 Ocean Isle Beach: "We've already 

 grown more than that since the 201 

 plan was approved last year. Then 

 what do you do?" 



Some coastal residents have pointed 

 out, in EPA workshops conducted this 

 spring, that even when and if the new 

 plants are built, they will almost im- 

 mediately operate at capacity. And 

 then, they say, communities will be 

 right where they started: what do you 

 do about septic tanks? 



The agency's consultants are using 

 computers to analyze and map the 

 state's barrier islands, delineating 

 areas suitable and unsuitable for septic 

 tanks and other land-based treatment 

 of sewage. Their report on these "alter- 

 natives" is due in September. 



But state officials wonder how the 

 agency can recommend land-based 

 alternatives for the islands, when such 

 issues as vertical separation, density 

 and ground-water contamination are 

 largely unresolved. 



"We desperately need to know the 

 carrying capacities for these soils, 

 based on adequate, valid research," 

 says Steve Steinbeck, soil specialist in 

 charge of the septic tank program for 

 Health Services. "Until we have that 

 knowledge, we can't endorse these 

 alternatives." 



Bowman Crum, who is directing the 

 preparation of EPA's impact state- 

 ment from his Atlanta, Georgia office, 

 says he's aware of the quarreling 

 among the state's authorities over The 

 Loophole. But as yet, his study hasn't 

 taken up the problem. "That's 

 something we're going to have to deal 

 with," he says. "As soon as we figure 

 out how." 



— Neil Caudle 



Photos by Neil Caudle 



Framing the seascape 



On Bogue Banks, workmen hammer together condominiums for several 

 hundred new residents. Sewage disposal for the complex will be handled 

 by a new "package" system (below), which chemically treats wastes and 

 then releases them into the soil. Several acres of maritime forest were 

 cleared for the drain lines. 



